This plea may be premature but now is the time to start the FFA thinking. If the newly crowned A-League 2012 premiers the Central Coast Mariners can grind out two more good results against Brisbane Roar over the next two weeks they will win the right to host the 2012 grand final.
This may not be as impossible as a lot of punters think, as The Roar have to travel to Korea mid-week prior to playing the second leg against the Mariners at Bluetounge Stadium a week on Sunday.
We know that BlueTongue Stadium only holds 20,000 people. But the surrounding waterfront would easily hold another 30,000 fans.
Imagine the vibe watching with everyone on the Gosford Waterfront on giant screens as the game is being played within earshot.
The Mariners have played in three grand finals, unfortunately losing all of them in very close results. The grand final against the Jets was our home grand final, and we deserved to play it at home. The FFA decided that we had to play the game in Sydney.
So providing we get there, now is the time for the FFA to give us the grand final we deserve.
Think hard FFA. In an area the other major codes neglect, you have the chance to secure the New South Wales Central Coast as a football powerhouse for many years to come.
You can see that the Mariners have been a revelation as a regional side playing in a national competition. Their A-League record is one to be proud of.
Give them their chance for their moment of glory, they will not disappoint.
The FFA once again have been neglectful to the Mariners by not having the Premier’s Plate at Wellington last week to crown The Mariners as 2012 champions.
This is their chance to redeem themselves and just maybe create one of those sporting fairytales for our code that would put bums on seats for many a year to come.
Over to you, FFA.
apaway
Guest
Except that they were playing home and away.
Dom
Guest
Very good point Brian, with regard to revenue. The point is an earned host of the GF should host the match in their own home ground stadium any alternative is a paradoxical insult to the fans club and the A-league in general. Foxsports have a monopoly on the H.A.L. so they have all the figures, the FA should have been prepared for this outcome in the A-League. @ Michael this is an excellent idea, if administrators were serious enough this could definately be achieved.
Ras
Guest
Alright Mr Statistician, let's approach it from a different direction then... Sydney averages a crowd that is 3000 stronger than CCM, can we agree that Sydney has a potential fanbase that is likely more than 30% larger than that of the Central Coast? Obviously the market is bigger in Sydney and from that point of view it COULD make sense to have the game there... Assuming that the market cares about a CCM game that is, if they don't we're back to the half-empty SFS potential. Either way, for the A-league, there's nothing to show that CCM in particular has "appalling crowds", they're smack-bang in the middle of the pack.
Trent
Guest
Nordster, you don't like finals because you're a Euro snob. That's all. At least the A-League gives more prestige to the 'minor' premier, which is not really minor. The way I see it, there are two trophies up for grabs and both the Premier and Champion are on equal footing. I think the players and most fans feel the same way.
Trent
Guest
Whatever Ras, it still proves nought.
Trent
Guest
I thought it was a mistake putting a club in Townsville, but I have to admit that a culture was building up and the crowds weren't as bad as I expected. Would prefer they were still around and not GCU. However, I'm sure a few committed fans travel from long distances for all teams, but that doesn't prove anything for crowds as a percentage of total population. I just think it's a silly statistic that any analyst (which is what I do for a living) wouldn't take seriously without also taking into account other mitigating factors. Good on you both for travelling, the A-league needs more committed fans like yourselves.
Ras
Guest
Didn't they say, when the argument started again this year, that neither Gosford nor Newcastle would be allowed to host it?
Ras
Guest
I am, are you aware that where most of the areas of Melbourne/Sydney with that distance to the stadiums, will still often be populated, the Central Coast and Newcastle have National Parks and rural land for the better part of the distance between them and each other/Sydney... So yes, the Mariners certainly do have fans travelling up from the northern suburbs, Berowra/Hornsby, I doubt it you'd go much further down though... To a great extend many of these would likely also be the ones inherited from the Northern Spirit, who chose not to follow Sydney. The point is, it's an extraordinarily long way from 25000 to 4.6 million, even if you include Hornsby/Berowra, I think you'll still find the percentage is significantly larger than that shown by Sydney/Melbourne. You can't do it by radius for the simple reason that the relative location of the stadium may not directly affect the visiting fanbase, you have to do it based on a target market.. That's where the money would be spent to promote the team, so that's where it makes sense... If we do it based on travelled distance anyway, from the Central Coast, down the F3, you're still only scratching Berowra and going up you're not at Newcastle yet... Inbetween, it's still largely unpopulated. Now, what do you reckon it'd be like from SFS?
PeterK
Guest
I live further than 130 km away from where NQ Fury used to play, and attended very nearly all matches -- I had to miss one in the first season because I was in Europe, and found it was a bit far to come back! The same percantages are very very interesting to apply to Fury! OK, so our crowds weren't great, but we were developing a solid base, and that base was growing. The ones who came early and dropped away were "interested bystanders", who we reckon we would eventually win back. It'll be oh so much harder now that we've been and gone -- probably would have been better had we not entered when we did.
PeterK
Guest
Agree, Mark, but I'd still prefer to see equal numbers of H&A -- even if it's only so over any two-year period, ie, if A has two home games out of three v B in one year, then the following year B gets the two home games.
PeterK
Guest
280m FEWER!
PeterK
Guest
Ah, but what if the order of matches were reversed! If Roar played first and won, then they and all the world would still have to wait to see whether CCM would win, and if they did not, then the trophy goes to Roar -- but that wouldn't be known at the end of the Roar match. Ah the permutations that might be!
PeterK
Guest
True enough I guess, Clayts, but if I ever found out!!!
nordster
Guest
:) well actually no the A-League was created as a league for football fans to unite behind primarily ... with the added benefit of being more palatable to eggballer tyre kickers to come and have a look at. After seven years if they haven't been drawn in by familiar concepts like GFs, then they probably ain't coming across in large enough numbers now to keep on pretending finals are the be all and end all. i don't like the finals series as it is an inferior, convoluted version of a knockout cup. And attempts to label the winner of it as being a true champion above and beyond the league champion. There are plenty of reasons to value to league premier and none of them have to do with simply "trying to be like Europe". If u don't get that then well ... The use of "finals" or "playoffs" in football as the main titles is very much the exception. They are cup titles and viewed by most football fans around the world as secondary, just be aware of their limitations ... and don't talk to me like i'm a dunce on the topic :P
Dan
Guest
Appalling crowds ur having a laugh mate. Look at the population of Coast and divide by average crowd and do the same for every other club and I guarentee we are ahead of Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney. Yes we don't pull 20k crowds but we are a small area mate
Brian
Guest
Should be in gosford. iapoel nicosia didn't have their qf against real relocated because of a small stadium and that game was slightly bigger globally than the hal gf. gf revenue should be coming from tv audience and not dependent on crowd size
Nathan of Perth
Guest
"For a country with similar issues and 280m less people"
Football United
Guest
SPL says no to you there
Melinda
Guest
I live 50+ km away from Bluetongue and I still travel every week. And the a-league doesn't run at the same time as the other football codes, so supporters can do both.
Football United
Guest
who cares what the rest think? the mls has other big sports putting it down but it sticks with the boutique stadiums even for the final and no one whinges that it averages about 20-30k. For a country with similar issues and 180k less people, i dont see what's the big deal about giving it to ccm